


you just took my by surprise [and i can't believe my eyes]

by goodandsafe



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, F/F, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-19 16:37:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13708398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodandsafe/pseuds/goodandsafe
Summary: Laura Hollis knows Camp Woodhaven like the back of her hand. Better than, really; after all, she’s spent far more time exploring the trails and trees and mountains and waters of which Woodhaven and Lake Silas are comprised than the skin of her hand.She first arrived at Woodhaven as but a six-year-old girl whose father needed summer child care after his wife died young far sooner than anyone anticipated. He’d framed it as “you can make new friends!” and it was the first happy thing Laura had heard since her dad told her the devastating news that her mom went to live with the angels. Over the next decade and change, Woodhaven became Laura’s summer home and she’d do just about anything for it, including putting up with Woodhaven’s newest and most irritating counselor: Carmilla Karnstein.





	you just took my by surprise [and i can't believe my eyes]

**Author's Note:**

> this fandom is severely lacking in summer camp AUs (as pointed out by heyjenocide), so
> 
> big big big HUGE thanks to tumblr users fox-is-fandumb, batwingsandblackcats, heyjenocide, and sprout-ing for your help and feedback as i've been working this out I LOVE Y'ALL
> 
> anyway, a quick introductory chapter to whet ur appetite

Laura gets to Woodhaven as the sun peaks in the sky on the Friday before campers are set to arrive. She parks outside the front office, where she knows she’ll find the owner and operator of the camp, Elizabeth Cochrane. When Laura, jumps down from the driver’s side of her Jeep, she takes in her first deep breath of forest, camp air.

It feels like coming home, like it always does, and Laura feels settled.

After enjoying the stillness for a moment, Laura heads inside the office, leaving her belongings in her car.

The business office is rather small and Laura finds Ms. Cochrane quickly. For a moment, she quietly observes the woman. Ms. Cochrane is bright-eyed and slender, which Laura attributes partially to the nature of living in wilderness for most of the year and partially to stress. She’s also of indiscernible age, which is something that’s always fascinated Laura. Though she’s known Ms. Cochrane nearly all of her life and feels that she knows plenty about the woman, she still manages to be an enigma.

Laura raps on the open door to the conference room as she enters the room and watches as the sound pulls Ms. Cochrane’s focus from the various forms, documents, and spreadsheets scattered across the table in front of her.

“Laura, dear! It’s wonderful to see you; come on in.”

“Hi Ms. Cochrane,” Laura says, genuinely excited to see her.

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Liz?” she asks Laura, smiling. “ _Especially_ now that you’re head counselor.”

Laura beams.

“I’m so excited for this summer. Where’s everyone else?”

“They’ll be along before dinner. I wanted some time for us to catch up and get some administrative work done before our first family dinner of the summer.”

Ms. Cochrane pats the space at the table beside her and Laura gladly takes a seat.

She and Ms. Cochrane have always had a close relationship, as the older woman is rather protective of her campers and Laura? Well, Laura always was something of a teacher’s pet. She’s also a hard worker, though, and if there’s one thing Liz Cochrane and Camp Woodhaven are consistently in need of, it’s dependable people. That and the fact that she’s now the longest-returning counselor have given Laura a senior position at Woodhaven, and Laura’s been excited about it for _months_.

Before diving into camp business, Ms. Cochrane wants to hear about Laura’s first year of college, so she listens as Laura rants until she’s out of breath about how thoroughly she’s enjoying her journalism program. After giving Laura a few recommendations on revolutionary and feminist journalists to look into, Ms. Cochrane focuses the pair of them on the summer ahead of them.

“Now, you know that Carlos got a full-time job, right?” Laura nods. “Well, I was able to find what seems to be a worthy replacement for him.”

“Who is it?”

“We’ll get there in a moment. That was the good news; the bad news is that Molly’s mom passed away last week and she won’t be joining us this summer.”

Laura gasps before she can stop herself; she knows all too well what that feels like.

“Poor Molly. We should, I don’t know, send her family flowers or a care package or something.”

Ms. Cochrane makes a note in the binder in front of her and says, “Great plan. When the rest of the team gets here, we can do a group think.”

“Awesome. So who’s replacing Molly this summer?”

Ms. Cochrane grimaces a bit.

“It was too last minute to try and hire another counselor, so we’ll be operating down one this summer. It’ll have to be all hands on deck, working together if we want to keep the balance.”

“What?! But that - the whole schedule will have to be redone! We can’t - wait. Hand me that?” Laura asks, gesturing at the staffing schedule.

Ms. Cochrane calmly passes the packet to her, allowing Laura to work through whatever panic slash brainblast she’s clearly in the middle of.

Laura’s eyes scan the pages up and down, back and forth, and then closes her eyes, muttering a bit to herself. A minute later, she falls silent and her eyes pop open.

“We have a few options. Is the new hire taking Carlos’ responsibilities or Molly’s?”

“Her only stipulation,” Ms. Cochrane says, smiling, “was to be placed with her brother, so she’ll be taking Carlos’ old spot in Science.”

“Will has a sister?” Laura asks, tilting her head just slightly.

“A twin, actually. Her name is --”

“Carmilla,” Laura suddenly remembers.

She always thought Will was, well, _lying_ about having a twin since she never came to camp with them but apparently she was wrong. Which means -- oh _God_ \-- that all the stories about the trouble Carmilla puts people through must _also_ be true.

 _“Not on my watch,”_ Laura thinks.

“-- lovely girl,” Ms. Cochrane says, because apparently she was talking the entire time Laura was lost in her inner monologue.

_“Focus, Hollis.”_

“Okay,” Laura says, glancing back down at the packet in her hands. “If I shift a few things around -- with your permission, of course -- I can cover some of Molly’s duties in Nature.”

“However you see fit, head counselor. I trust you. Just update the schedule for me and print copies for the entire team.”

/

When Laura’s done rearranging the schedule and preparing the printed copies for Ms. Cochrane, her fellow counselors, and herself, she makes her way to her bunk which, this year, is in the most spacious tent.

She _is_ head counselor, after all.

Truth be told, it isn’t much bigger in size than the other counselor quarters, but this tent only has two bunks, whereas the other three tents have three or four each.

There’s at least another hour until the other ten counselors arrive, so Laura takes her time making her bed and organizing her clothing and toiletries before heading to the mess hall to help Ms. Cochrane set up for dinner. The camp cooks -- JP and Gabe -- have no doubt been in the kitchen for hours already preparing for the weeks to come and they’re especially aware of the significance of the first family dinner of the summer. They’ve been the cooks here for as long as Laura has attended Camp Woodhaven and every single year, she’s amazed at what they’re able to do on such a tight budget.

When Laura gets to the mess, Perry and LaFontaine are already there because _of course_ they’re early. The former is bustling around, following behind Ms. Cochrane to straighten out the place settings that the woman lays out and the latter is hanging string lights around the perimeter of the hall.

“Hey Frosh! Come help me with these,” they say, holding up a tangled mess of lights, already plugged into a socket.

“LaFontaine!” Perry calls, not looking over her shoulder. “What have I told you about tugging on electrical lines?”

LaF heaves a sigh and gently unplugs the string of lights.

“Thank you!” Perry says cheerily.

Laura smiles; her summer family is slowly shifting back together.

/

One by one, the rest of Laura’s co-workers arrive in the mess hall for family dinner but by 6:35, they’re still waiting for two more: Will and Carmilla Karnstein. By 6:57, Laura is pacing next to the table at which Ms. Cochrane and the rest of the counselors are seated, arms crossed and brow furrowed.

When the door swings open to reveal a pair of laughing, raven-haired Karnsteins at 7:37pm, Laura Hollis is positively livid, but before she can round on the twins for being woefully, unacceptably late, Ms. Cochrane pushes to her feet and claps her hands together.

“The family’s all here! Including our newest member, Carmilla.”

The girl, Carmilla, offers an awkward wave and opens her mouth to speak, but Laura cuts her off.

“You two are _over_ ninety minutes late! For the inaugural family dinner of the summer! This is --”

“An accident,” Carmilla cuts in, “and it’s my fault; I’m sorry.”

“Of course it is. You’re just determined to sour this camp before the kids even arrive, aren’t you?”

Carmilla just smirks at Laura and starts moving past her toward the table, saying, “Whatever you say, cutie,” just loudly enough for Laura, and Laura alone, to hear.

JP and Gabe bring out the food then, cutting the remaining tension in the room and serving dinner to everyone. When Laura sees that JP has slid two chocolate chip cookies onto her dinner plate, she forgets all about her ire at the Karnstein twins.

The rest of family dinner passes without incident and Laura is content to be laughing and catching up with the people with whom she’d grown up. Over dessert -- more cookies and bowls of ice cream -- Ms. Cochrane passes out the schedules Laura made with another sheet on top: bunk assignments.

Laura eagerly takes hers, expecting to be paired with Perry or LaF, as she had been for the last few years and is surprised and appalled, really, to see another name.

Carmilla Karnstein.

No.

Laura reads and then rereads the sheet, hoping her eyes are playing tricks on her. But no. Sure enough, it reads “Tent 1: Laura Hollis and Carmilla Karnstein.”

In a fluster, Laura pulls Ms. Cochrane aside.

“Is this right?” she asks, holding up the packet.

“Of course.”

“Ms. Cochrane, isn’t there space in Perry’s tent?” Laura asks, voice tight.

“Yes, dear, but I thought Carmilla should have the opportunity to be taught the ropes by our longest-running camper _and_ counselor,” Ms. Cochrane says with the raise of an eyebrow.

Laura has enough sense to feel embarrassed.

“You’re right,” she says meekly.

Ms. Cochrane takes Laura by the shoulders and says, “Introduce her to Camp Woodhaven. Teach her what we’re all about. Make her feel at home.”

When Laura turns around, nearly everyone has filed out of the mess hall and is beginning to make their way toward the counselor tents. Everyone but Carmilla.

Laura plasters on a smile she’s sure the girl can see right through.

“We got off on the wrong foot. I’m sorry. I was just, y’know, a little stressed. I’m Laura.”

“Laura Hollis,” Carmilla nods. “I’ve heard plenty about you.” Carmilla holds out her hand then. “I’m Carmilla, but you already know that.”

Laura shakes her hand and says, “Hi Carmilla. Welcome to Woodhaven.”

**Author's Note:**

> drop me a line at good-and-safe


End file.
